AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 299.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,698,797 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 5,021,915 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $177,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PFE shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.57.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $23.04 on Tuesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The stock has a market cap of $130.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.88.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.47%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Pfizer Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.